In the fracturing and stimulation of wells in the oil and gas extraction industry, it is common to desire that the zone to be stimulated be segregated from zones both below and above during the fracturing or stimulation operation. This is typically done by placing packers on the tubing string being used for the fracturing or stimulation operation to seal the annulus between the string and the casing at points below and above the portion of the tubing string through which high pressure fluids (with or without additives) are injected into the wellbore and through production ports in the well's casing, into the production zone, to effect the desired well stimulus. Often, if the well contains water or similar fluid, either naturally or from a prior operation, the insertion of the packer-equipped tubing from surface to the desired part of the wellbore is slowed tremendously (from the usual 25 meters per minute to as slow as one meter per minute) because that fluid must pass by the packer as the tubing string is lowered into the well.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a new packing tool to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.